Foley’s City Hall was bustling with activity on Monday where the city council met twice and the Foley Public Facilities Cooperative District held meetings for most of the afternoon.

The cooperative district met to primarily discuss the final lease agreement between the district and the co-owners of Wolf Bay Lodge. According to Charles Ebert, chair of the cooperative district, the resolution passed contained no new information, but the lease had never been finalized. The Wolf Bay Lodge property has been occupied since December and the city received the first rent payment in early February.

The Wolf Bay Lodge project ended up costing the city slightly more than originally planned, but most of the additional cost was for legal fees. The legal fees were so high because documentation had to be created to allow the city to join a retail and restaurant endeavor. For any future projects with similar tenants the legal fees associated with the project should be greatly diminished.

Jeff Rouzie, who has been involved with the Wolf Bay Lodge property since the beginning, told the district the restaurant is more profitable than anyone expected, but the first revenue report has not been compiled yet. Rouzie also told the district he had hopes for further development of the Wolf Bay Lodge property in the future. He hopes the property will eventually house more establishments and possibly a hotel. The property, according to Rouzie, shares a boundary line with the Gulf Bowl, and a road from the Wolf Bay Lodge to the Gulf Bowl and nearby Tanger Outlet may be a possibility as well. Rouzie said additional tenants have recently shown interest in similar arrangements with the city.

The cooperative district also recommended to the council a resolution stating who would pay for the life insurance policy for one of the owners of Wolf Bay Lodge, which is included in the lease agreement. It was decided the city will foot the bill, which is estimated to be $800 a year, but the exact amount is pending results of the owner’s physical examination. The council agreed to pay up to $1,500.

The council decided to sponsor the Foley Lion’s freshman baseball team for $300. The council previously agreed to sponsor the softball team. The city will receive a 4x8 banner which will be on display at all home games.

The council also agreed to allow the “Miss Foley” boat to be used in the Foley Mardi Gras parade, which will be held on March 5. According to Foley Mayor John Koniar, the boat has been used in past parades in Foley and in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach.

Four items on the consent agenda were approved.

The first item approved memorialized the paving costs from the Streetscape project in the amount of $6,948 and amended the budget to include additional electrical material, which cost $3,281.

The second item memorialized $552 for work done at the Wilson Pecan property. In the remaining items, the purchase of three computers was memorialized.

Two computers will be bought for the police department’s record section and the other computer will replace a computer in the sanitation department.

The council also approved needed equipment purchases. The Friends of the Foley Public Library recently donated $5,000 to the library, which will be used to purchase audio/visual material for check out.

Library Director Steve Horn said the audio/visual account was running low and there has been an increased demand for audio/visual equipment. The council also agreed to allow a Fujitsu scanner from “A Matter of Fax” for $3,021 to replace the scanner currently used by Donna Poole. The purchase of a new scanner was included in the budget for $850 more than the price of the scanner being purchased. 

A new server was also approved for use by the planning and zoning department. According to City Planner Miriam Boutwell, the server currently in use needs to be replaced because she is worried the important information stored on the server could be lost if it crashes. The purchase of a new server was included in the budget for $4,990.

Fire Station 1 will also receive a new icemaker to replace a damaged machine. The purchase was not budgeted, but the funds will come out of the building/grounds maintenance account. It will cost $1,934 to replace the current icemaker, but it would have cost $1,200 to make repairs.

The council also approved a resolution allowing the police department to get rid of an old Motorola Print Teak AFIS machine and donate the machine to the Orange Beach Police Department to use for spare parts. The Foley Police Department has not used the machine in years.

The police department also approached the council to request the vacant unfounded dispatcher position be unfrozen. The shifts are currently being covered with regular employees working overtime. According to the city’s human resources department, hiring an additional dispatcher will save the city money by cutting out the overtime.

The council representative on the Revitalization and Beautification Advisory board was changed back to a non-voting member, which opens up an additional position on the board. An appointment to the board was not made.

The council also voted to allow the city to apply for the ADCNR Coastal area Management Program 306A Public Access Improvement Grant. According to Leslie Lassiter, the city has received the grant in previous years. The grant will be $50,000 and the city must match the grant funds. According to Lassiter, the city’s match can be in the form of in-kind services, which will make the city’s actual payout much less than $50,000. If awarded the grant, the funds will be used to improve a trail system and to add signage to trails at the Graham Creek Nature Preserve.

The Foley Airport was granted permission to enter into a one-year airport franchise agreement with JLS Aviation LLC, and also to accept the donation of a small aluminum boat to be used to clean ponds. The council also agreed to go to bid for the cleaning and painting of the FBO building and the T-hangar exteriors.

Minor changes are being made regarding the Cedar Street sidewalk project and the council voted on an ordinance to accept the infrastructure of the Abbey Lane Extension.

The council also addressed additional funding needed to take care of the mold found in the Foley Depot Museum. The council accepted Comfort Solution’s proposal of $3,250 to replace or upgrade the air handler in the museum. Once the air handler is fixed, the council also approved ServPro of Baldwin County’s quote of $5,207 to remove the mold accumulated in the museum.

The council also passed resolutions to compensate the candidates who applied for the city administrator position for travel costs, and also agreed to appropriate additional funds to pay Michael Thompson while Perry Wilbourne is still on the payroll.

A proposal from the Armory Commission to trade property near Barin NOLF for the armory building behind city hall when the new armory is built on the Foley Beach Express was approved by the council.